


Better Late Than Never

by some_nights



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Light Swearing, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 14:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16369046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/some_nights/pseuds/some_nights
Summary: The saviour of the wizarding world walks into a gay bar.The rest is history.Or: The one where Ginny leaves Harry for Luna and prompts him to question his sexuality.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All pairings besides Harry/Draco are only background pairings.

Draco was just enjoying a lapdance at his favourite muggle strip club when he saw someone walk in. Usually, he was too preoccupied with the guy on his lap to even notice anything else, but his senses had been tuned to that hair, that walk, that posture. He had spent six years of his life obsessing over them and then some. So he was pretty sure Harry Potter had just walked into a gay strip club. The saviour of the wizarding world looked around. It was him. No doubt. It had been a few years since Draco had seen him last, on the platform of the Hogwarts express. Ever since then, they’d avoided each other. Even though their sons were best friends, it wasn’t that hard. Draco just dropped Scorpius off as early as possible, since he knew any family with Weasley in them would not arrive any earlier than absolutely necessary. Except for the Granger-Weasley family of course, but it was neither Granger nor Weasley Draco was avoiding so he didn’t mind running into them and having small talk. Harry Potter, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. Harry Potter was dangerous. And right now, Harry Potter seemed extraordinarily drunk. Draco didn’t even notice his lapdance had ended and the stripper had gone on to somebody else. His eyes were transfixed on the boy who lived. The man who almost stumbled into a couple that was making out quite graphically near the door. It just seemed so surreal. Of all the wizards who could have walked into this particular gay club in London, it had to be Harry fucking Potter. He hadn’t noticed Draco yet and Draco wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be noticed. For now, he decided to observe. Potter was looking around with a puzzled look that Draco would have rather expected on Weasley’s face. He had a little scruff, which made him look rugged and wore a sweatshirt Draco wouldn’t have been caught dead in. And he was still unfairly handsome, of course. He staggered towards the bar. Draco felt a little silly hiding behind a pillar and spying on Potter. He hadn’t done that in years. The golden boy sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender said something, probably about all the alcohol Potter had already consumed, but Potter made a dismissive gesture. When he had his drink, he leaned against the bar and let his eyes wander again. He looked like he was scanning the crowd. What was he scanning for? Then, Potter’s eyes met those of a muggle on the other end of the room. The guy smirked. Draco hated him. Potter smirked back. Draco’s blood froze in his veins. Before he could even fathom what he was doing, he made his way to Potter, always keeping an eye on the stranger. He had to reach Potter before that man. And he did.

“Now”, he purred into Potter’s ear. “What is the hero of wizardkind doing in an establishment such as this?”

Potter jumped and almost spilled his drink over himself. “Holy fucking hell! Malfoy!”

“Such words out of the mouth of the chosen one!”, Draco said. He couldn’t help the grin on his face. Potter scowled at him.

“Fuck off.”

He started to look around, but Draco said: “If you are looking for the… _gentleman_ who was approaching you before, I am pretty sure he was scared off.”

“Gee, thanks!”, Potter said sarcastically.

Draco leaned next to him on the bar, signalling that he wasn’t leaving any time soon.

“So what are you doing here? Finally decided to live out your bisexual tendencies?” Draco really hoped he wouldn’t push Potter too far.

“Decided it one word for it.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Someone forced you to come here?”

“Don’t you read the prophet?”

“Why would I? They only have dreadful things to say about me and my family. And everything else is lies.”

“Well, Ginny is leaving me for Luna.”

That did indeed surprise Draco. Not that the youngest Weasley had turned out to be interested in women, no. But that she had chosen an airhead like Luna Lovegood over Harry Potter.

“And then she said she feels like I never got a chance to ‘explore’ this side of me since we got married just after the war and now I’m here.”

“Exploring”, Draco said.

“And anyway, what are you doing here, Malfoy? As far as I know, you are still happily married.”

Draco couldn’t help but laugh. “Potter, I know you had a lot to do with all your Saviour duties, but me being gay has pretty much been an open secret since our Hogwarts days. The marriage between Astoria and me is nothing more than the means to produce a Malfoy heir and get our parents off our backs.”

He had really missed that dumbstruck look on Potter’s face. It was delightful.

“So let me get this straight”, Potter said and Draco failed not to chuckle about his choice of words. “You’re gay?”

“Yes. Gay as Grindelwald.”

“Grindelwald was gay?”

“Potter, did you pay _any_ attention in history of magic?”

“Of course not, Binns was our worst teacher.”

“We had Umbridge, Lockhart and literal death eaters as teachers and you call Binns the worst?”

Potter shrugged and mumbled: “His class was boring.”

Draco laughed again. Who would have thought Potter could be funny?

They leaned next to each other in comfortable silence. Well, as much silence as there could be in a strip club. Suddenly, the loud music bothered Draco. He looked at Potter, who seemed more relaxed than before. Less disoriented and drunk.

“This will sound very weird, but if you would like to continue having a conversation, would you be opposed to moving it somewhere else?”

“Are you asking me out, Malfoy?”

“If I was, you’d know. Trust me”, Draco deadpanned.

“It is pretty loud in here. Have anything in mind?”

Draco nodded and, on instinct, took Potter’s hand. Potter, to Draco’s surprise, didn’t pull it away. And so Draco walked through a gay strip club in London. Hand in hand with Harry Potter. Would the wonders ever cease?

 

* * *

 

 

When they reached their destination, Draco reluctantly let go of Potter’s hand. He felt the warmth linger.

They were at the shore of the Thames, a spot where one could see the lights of Muggle London. Most importantly, there was a bench that Draco had enchanted to be warm. Now in September, as the evenings were starting to grow cold again, this was a nice feature. He made a sweeping gesture. “Welcome to the viewpoint of undisturbed conversation.”

Now it was Potter’s turn to raise an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he sat down on the bench. “Why is it warm?”, he asked.

“We are wizards, you know.”

Potter rolled his eyes. Draco had to stop thinking every single thing he did was endearing. But it was hard.

They sat down and Draco wrecked his brain about what to say. There were a thousand things he could say, but at least half of them would ruin the evening. Fortunately, Potter saved him.

“How… how did you know? That you’re gay I mean.”

Draco shrugged. “I’ve never been interested in girls and that didn’t change as I grew older. I was, however, interested in guys.”

Potter seemed to contemplate something. The tiniest part of Draco was afraid Potter would add up two and two, but then again, logic had never been Potter’s strong suit. Still, he had to be careful with what he said. His long-lasting crush was a secret he would take to his grave. Well. It wasn’t really a secret. Pretty much the whole house of Slytherin knew. And his parents at least suspected something. But still. It was important that Potter didn’t know. Never found out.

“So you never had a crush on any girl?”

“No.”

“What about Pansy?”

“Lesbian.”

“What?”

“Yes. And she was more consequent than me. She actually went against her parent’s wishes and married not only a woman but also a muggle. Her wife truly is lovely.”

“You know, Ginny accused me of being ‘heteronormative’ and I’m starting to see what she means.”

Draco shrugged. “Most people are. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“That’s what she said”, Potter said and then chuckled. “That’s what she said”, he mumbled once more and Draco didn’t know if he was skirting over into hysterical territory.

Potter seemed to read his mind because he said: “Don’t worry, it’s a muggle joke.”

Draco nodded. Silence stretched out again, real silence this time. It surprised Draco how not terrible this was. It actually felt kind of natural. Sitting with Potter on the shore of the Thames. Looking over London. Talking about sexuality.

“What lead your ex-wife to think you might not be as straight as you thought?”, Draco asked after a while.

Potter shrugged. “She’s pretty sure I had a crush on Bill. Her oldest brother.”

“And? Did you?”

Again, a shrug. “I mean, he's very handsome. And I know I always felt a little flustered around him back then. But it didn’t feel like it did with Ginny. Or Cho for that matter.”

“Well”, Draco said. “My bisexual friend told me that for her, there was a difference between crushes on girls and crushes on guys. She wasn’t making a lot of sense, because she was drunk off her ass, but still. Maybe that’s a bi thing?”

Potter put his thinking face on and Draco really wanted to take his hand again. Or stroke his arm. Or kiss him. Mostly he wanted to kiss him.

“You could be right.”

“Can you imagine what your fourteen-year-old self would think if someone told him I of all people helped you figure out your sexuality?”, Draco joked.

Potter actually laughed. “He would definitely not think it would go like this. Most probably he’d think we had an angry make-out session and that made me realise I didn’t only like girls but guys too.”

 _Angry make-out session_. Harry Potter had just voiced one of Draco’s schoolday fantasies. It wasn’t confined to his schooldays. He had often imagined how, during one of their many fights, he’d just push Potter against the wall and make out with him. Sometimes it was Potter doing the pushing.

Draco realised he was sitting there, staring at Potter in shock. He quickly closed his mouth and cleared his throat. Great. Not at all suspicious.

“Well”, he said. And nothing else. His mind was blank. All he could think about was Harry Potter saying “angry make-out session”. Harry Potter had just said Draco could have been his gay awakening. With an angry make-out session. Harry Potter. Angry make-out session.

“What would your fourteen-year-old self say? If you told him you helped me figure out my sexuality?”, Potter asked as if Draco wasn’t just making a complete fool of himself.

Draco’s mouth went dry and he felt himself blush. It had been ages since he’d last blushed. He couldn’t even remember the last time his face heated up uncomfortably.

“I assure you, my fourteen-year-old self wouldn’t be inclined to believe me. But if he did, he would come to similar conclusions as you.”

Fourteen. They had been in year four. The Triwizard tournament. “Potter stinks” buttons. He had been turned into a ferret by Barty Crouch Jr.

“I’m sorry”, Draco said, because this seemed as good a time as any and he had to say it. “I know _sorry_ doesn’t quite cut it. I was not a good kid. And I am sorry I made your life at Hogwarts harder than it had to be.”

“You weren’t the only thing making my time at school hard”, Potter said.

Draco rolled his eyes. “I know. On the grand scale, I was probably nothing more than a small hindrance or annoyance, at least the first few years.”

“No, you actually were pretty high on my list of enemies. Second just after Voldemort.”

Draco flinched when he heard that name, but waved off Potter’s concerned look.

“But”, Potter carried on with a careful look at Draco. “You were something I could deal with. Yes, you made my life harder, but I had Hermione and Ron and all the Weasleys, the other Gryffindors. Often the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too. And with time, most of what you did just seems petty.”

Draco huffed. “That’s one way to put it.”

He couldn’t help but feel that he was being let off easy. It had been his mission back then to make Potter’s life at Hogwarts as miserable as possible after he had refused to shake Draco’s hand in front of the whole year.

“Did you know we suspected that you were the heir of Slytherin in year two?”, Harry asked.

“What?”, Draco laughed.

“Yes. I was sure you were the one controlling the basilisk. We even infiltrated the common room and interrogated you. Used polyjuice potion.”

“In year two?”

Draco was impressed. Even he wouldn’t have dared to touch that potion when he was 12, least of all brew it.

“Yes. Hermione made it, of course. Ironically, she got the short end of the stick. She got a hair from Pansy’s cat, not Pansy herself.”

“Wait”, Draco said. “Was that the week Granger was mysteriously ill and everyone was speculating she'd been turned to stone as well, but no one said anything?”

Potter nodded.

“One day, Potter, you will have to tell me what else you suspected me off.”

He shrugged. “Pretty much everything. Except in year six. I had a rough year and you were the least of my problems.”

Draco nodded. He could sympathise. Not fully, their situations had been quite different. But a little. It hadn’t been his best year. It also hadn’t been the worst year. Year seven had been worse. Absentmindedly, Draco stroked over his left wrist.

“I think it's time for you to call me Harry”, Potter said.

Draco looked at him. He had a small smile, a look that told Draco this was an apology for reopening old wounds. Potter- Harry. Harry wasn’t the one who should be apologising.

Nevertheless, Draco smiled. “Well, then you should call me Draco.”

He stretched out his hand and this time, Harry shook it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it a date? Are they "just friends"? Harry is a little confused and calls someone who can help out.

Harry hadn’t planned to keep his friendship to Draco a secret. It just happened. He wasn’t ready to tell anyone about his newfound bisexuality yet, which meant he couldn’t tell anybody how he and Draco had met. So when Ron asked: “Up for a pint after work, mate?”, Harry just shook his head.

“I’m meeting someone.”

Ron wiggled his eyebrows. “ _ Someone _ .”

“It’s not like that!”, Harry said. Still, he couldn’t help a small blush.

Ron laughed. “Whatever you say. But I’m glad to see you’re getting over Ginny. Does that mean you’ll come to the Burrow dinner this month? Mom’s growing worried.”

“It wasn’t my fault I was stuck at work last time! Also, you know Ginny and me are still friends, right?”, Harry asked.

“Yes, I know. But if you’d turned up to dinner as heartbroken as you were been last month, it would be pretty uncomfortable. Mom would be icy towards Ginny, we would pretend not to notice… Now that you’re getting back to your old self, we won’t have to go through that.”

“Molly wouldn’t be icy towards Ginny”, Harry said.

“Mate, you don’t know mom as well as you think. She still sees you as the lost boy in need of protection and love. Also, in this case, Ginny is pretty obviously the one at fault.”

Harry began to protest, but Ron held up a hand.

“I know, I know. It’s not her fault she fell in love with Luna while the two of you were still married. And they didn’t start a relationship until after you were split up. But still, mom would have seen it as her responsibility to stay with you. To work it out.”

“But Ron, that would have made both of us unhappy.”

Ron shrugged. “I know that. And mom probably does too. Anyway. It’s good to see you getting better. And you’ve already got  _ someone _ .”

“Again. Not that kind of someone.”

“Whatever you say”, Ron said with another wink.

 

* * *

 

Harry apparated into a phone booth close to the café where he was meeting Draco. They always met in muggle London. They could move much more freely. It didn’t surprise Harry too much that Draco had muggle money now. Scorpius always had some on him too. Some part of Harry couldn’t believe that Draco, his friend, was not only the father of his son’s best friend but also the same person as Malfoy, his school nemesis.

Of course, Draco already had a coffee on the table in front of him. To each of their little chats, he had been early. Harry rolled his eyes and smiled. Something he’d been doing a lot over the past two weeks when it came to Draco. But he was just too ridiculous sometimes.

“Potter”, Draco said in his best Malfoy sneer.

“Malfoy”, Harry reiterated. They held each other’s stare until Draco’s mouth twitch and curve into a smile. Harry broke too and grinned.

“What have you got there?”, he asked with a nod at Draco’s cup.

“You wouldn’t like it. But you’ll definitely like the frappucino with caramel syrup. As we have established by now, you have the taste buds of a little child.”

Again, the eyeroll and the smile. Harry went to the counter and ordered what Draco had recommended. He took a cookie for good measure and made his way back to their table.

Neither of them said anything as Harry tried his drink.

“You know”, he said. “I hate how much I love this.”

Draco’s smile made Harry’s ears grow warm. That wasn’t really new, but after what Ron had said, Harry paid attention to it for the first time.  _ Someone _ .

“Anything interesting happening at the ministry? Beside the usual incompetence?”, Draco asked, sipping his cup. It was probably just coffee. For whichever reason, Draco enjoyed bitter tastes. More than once, Harry’s mind had wandered to the dirty side after that revelation. Today was no different.

“Nothing special. Ron thinks I’m seeing someone.”

Harry probably shouldn’t enjoy the effect his words had on Draco. But it was always amusing to break Draco’s composure. So him trying to hide a cough as he choked on his coffee was a big win.

“Well, are you?”, Draco asked and Harry laughed.

“Besides you? No.”

Draco grew weirdly still at that comment. As he did every time Harry mentioned anything that even remotely hinted at the two of them being more than friends. He had his theories as to the reason for Draco’s reaction, but he wasn’t sure about any of them.

“I gather you still haven’t told anyone about our friendship yet?”, Draco asked.

Harry shrugged. “To tell them I’d have to tell them how it came about, but that would involve me coming out and I don’t want to do that.”

Draco nodded. “I can understand that.”

“It’s not like they wouldn’t accept me – I know they would. For Merlin’s sake, they accepted Ginny and the only issue was her leaving me. But it just seems so bothersome. It’s just a part of me I don’t want to share yet.”

“You could tell your ex-wife”, Draco said. He never called Ginny anything other than Harry’s “ex-wife”. Harry really didn’t know what to make of that. So he didn’t linger too much on it.

“Draco Malfoy, as always your wondrous ideas astonish me. Leave me speechless. Absolutely overwhelmed.”

“For someone who’s speechless, you’re talking quite a lot”, Draco mumbled, but he couldn’t hide his smile. Maybe he didn’t even try.

Harry smiled back.

 

* * *

 

 

The more he thought about it, the more Harry realised Draco’s idea was actually good. So he called Ginny on the cellphone Mr Weasley had gotten all of them last Christmas. They worked even when surrounded by magic. Quite practical.

“Yes?”, Ginny asked.

“Hi”, he said.

“Oh, hi Harry!” The joy in her voice was elevating and even though Harry knew it was over, he couldn’t stop the little bubble of love in his stomach.

“So. Uhm. I would like to meet and talk.”

“Of course”, Ginny said. “Your place or my place?”

How fast she’d stopped saying “our place”. Harry had gotten the family house for now. “It’s only fair”, Ginny had said. “I am the one leaving you. You should have as little inconvenience as possible.”

“My place”, Harry answered. It felt wrong in his mouth.

“Great. For dinner? Earlier? Later?”

“Maybe a glass of wine after dinner?”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

“Yeah, see you then.”  _ Love you _ , he thought. Only one month ago, he would have said it too. But not anymore. Now, they just said “Bye” and hung up. Sometimes, Harry missed her a lot.

 

* * *

 

 

As promised, Ginny showed up after dinner with a bottle of wine.

They hugged as a greeting. It felt a little weird. That was the person Harry used to share everything with. They used to use the bathroom together each morning. Sleep in the same bed each night. And now, Ginny was just a visitor dropping by.

“This is weird”, she said.

Harry laughed. “It is. And I’m glad it’s not just me.”

“Of course not. Harry, I did love you and I will always care about you. You know that.”

Harry didn’t know what to say to that, so he just nodded.

After a moment of awkward silence, he said: “Well, let’s go to the living room. You know the way.”

He had already prepared the table with two empty wine glasses. They sat down on their family couch. Harry on his usual spot, Ginny not on her usual spot, but at some distance from him.

“How’s Luna?”, Harry asked while pouring them wine.

“She’s currently researching centaur culture. She’s really loving it and Hagrid is a great help. As are the centaurs in the forbidden forest. They are the least shy and aggressive centaurs out there.”

Harry crooked an eyebrow. “So you’re a centaur expert now?”

“Luna’s the expert. I just listen to her.”

Ginny seemed happy. Happier than Harry had seen her in some time. After the divorce, they hadn’t seen each other much, even though they had promised to stay friends. In the last two months, they’d only met up twice.

“I’m glad you are doing well”, Harry said.

She smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

“Will you bring her along to the burrow on Saturday?”

Ginny took a sip of wine. “Probably not. I think I’m not ready. And I don’t know if she’s ready either. Or you, for that matter.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready either,” Harry shrugged. “But I think I never really will be. It’ll be weird to see you with somebody else at first, no matter when that ‘at first’ is.”

Harry quite liked the wine Ginny had brought and told her as much.

“Thank you. Now, why did you call me? Certainly not to talk about Luna and me.”

Harry shrugged. “I like talking about Luna and you.”

“Harry.”

Her annoyed wife voice. He really needed a new name for that. Harry sighed and took a deep sip of wine.

“So”, he said. “Remember how you told me that you thought I had a crush on Bill? And how you told me I should go out and experiment?”

“Yes, I remember. You never really had time to figure yourself out with your saviour duties and all that. Now that you're a free man, you can finally do that.”

Harry nodded and took another sip. His glass was empty. He refilled it. Ginny knew he was stalling, so she asked: “And, did you? Go out and experiment I mean?”

“I did go out, yes”, Harry said.

Ginny’s eyes started to glow excitedly. “Could you please just tell me? I don’t want to force every single bit of information out of you.”

Harry sighed. Another sip of wine.

“You were right”, he said.

“Yes!”, Ginny exclaimed. Which was not exactly the reaction Harry had expected, but still not totally surprising. She loved to be right.

“But that’s not why I called you over.”

Ginny frowned a little. “If not that, then… Oh, have you met someone? So quickly?”

“You can’t control when your heart decides to fall in love, wasn’t that what you told me?”

Ginny looked sheepish. “Yes. I did. So what’s his name?”

“How do you know it’s a he?”

“Because if it wasn’t, you would be talking to Ron or Hermione. Or any of your other friends. Really, your ex-wife is probably the last person you would talk to about future romances unless you had no one else. So. Who is he?”

Harry took another sip of wine. Sometimes he underestimated how smart Ginny was.

“First off, it’s not like that. He helped me figure stuff out  _ through talking _ ”, Harry emphasised when Ginny began to smirk, “And ever since then, we’ve been meeting casually for talks. That’s all there is to it. A friendship. I made a new friend.”

“That’s cool too”, she said. “It’s important to have a queer support network.”

“Yeah uhm”, Harry stammered. “The thing is, you know him. And the others know him too. From school. And that’s where things get complicated.”

“I see”, Ginny said. Then, after Harry just nibbled on his wine without saying anything for a while: “Is it Malfoy?”

“H...how do you know that?”

She counted off on her hand. “He was at Hogwarts, he’s pretty gay and he’s the only person all of us know where you could apply the word ‘complicated’.”

“Since when are you so good at deductive reasoning?”, Harry asked in awe.

Ginny huffed. “I’m a journalist. It’s what I do. Anyway, so you and Malfoy are friends now?”

“Yes.”

“And you can’t tell anybody, because then you would have to tell them how you met and you’re not ready yet.”

“Yes”, Harry said relieved. He was glad he didn’t have to say it himself. 

Ginny downed the last wine from her glass and poured some more. She also gave Harry some.

“So how exactly did the two of you meet?”, she asked.

Harry told her about that night when he had been drinking with Ron and Hermione after she had told him about Luna. They’d offered to take him home, but he had insisted on walking to clear his head. Somehow, he had ended up in front of a gay club and decided to go in. He told her how he’d met Draco, how they’d talked and how they’d been meeting for coffee ever since.

“Can I just say that it’s really weird to hear you call him Draco?”, she said.

Harry nodded. “You can.”

The wine bottle was almost empty now and both of them were a little tipsy.

“But sounds like he’s changed.”

Harry nodded again. He didn’t like drinking wine. It always made his tongue heavy and he grew tired.

“So. Friendship? Or is it developing in a different direction?”

Of course she would ask. Harry had wanted her to ask. But now that the question was out there, hanging in the air, Harry wasn’t so sure he wanted to answer. So he just sat, silently counting the wooden squares on their, no  _ his _ , living room table.

“You do know your silence speaks volumes, right?”

Harry would have prefered not to answer, but he didn’t want Ginny to think he had drifted off, so he nodded.

“From your side? From his side? Both?”

Harry felt tears rise into his eyes and that really didn’t make sense now, did it? Merlin, he hated wine. Why had he suggested it in the first place? He blinked a few times and tried to speak around the knot in his throat. “I...”, he croaked. Ginny transfigured the remaining wine in his glass into water. Harry shot her a grateful look and drank it. Then he cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m not sure”, he said. “That’s why I needed to talk to you.”

 

* * *

 

After a talk that lasted hours,  Harry was sure of one thing: He had a crush on Draco Malfoy. What he still didn't know was if Draco felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised this is my first multi-chapter fic I'm actually going to finish!  
> If you liked it, please leave a comment or kudos, they really make my day.  
> You're also always welcome to check my [writeblr](writtelings.tumblr.com)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco is really not as confused as Harry. Another coffee chat could change that. (It doesn't)

Draco had assumed, foolishly, really, that his feelings for Harry would lessen over time. That, the more he got to know the person behind the image he had cultivated around the praised hero, the less inclined he’d be to kiss him. He discovered that the opposite was the case. Before, it had only been mostly physical attraction, an infatuation. A crush, yes, but not much more. Now that he was actually spending time with Harry, however, he started to like him. There were a million little things, like the way Harry’s nose always twitched a little when he tried to hold back a laugh or his inexplicable hatred of pigeons. And each little thing Draco discovered made his heart grow fonder.

“Blaise, I’m fucked," he said and let his head fall onto his friend’s kitchen table.

Blaise shot him an amused look from the kitchen counter. “Totally whipped," he said. “No escape for you. You’re on Potter’s leash forever.”

Draco groaned. He had come to France to visit Blaise because everyone in England had grown tired of hearing him complain about Harry. Pansy had said that he was giving her Hogwarts flashbacks.

Blaise patted Draco’s head on his way to his seat. “We’ve all known for a while now that your crush on Potter is like one of those really bad colds: Whenever you think it’s gone, it returns full force.”

“Maybe, but it’s been  _ decades _ ! Sustaining a crush for that long is just pathetic,” Draco complained.

“You’re completely right, but at least now you’re friends with him. And spend more time with him than any of your old school friends like me or Pansy. I’d call that rude, but I know we’ve got nothing on the boy who lived, so I’ll let it slide.”

“It’s not my fault the two of you are always busy! And I’m here now, am I not?”

“Only because no one else will listen to you whine about your Potter situation. But it’s okay, I know you’ll listen to me rant about my problems at work once you’re done.”

“Blaise, I’m forty," Draco said with a sigh. “I’ve been married to Astoria for almost twenty years.”

Blaise frowned. “Why are you telling me that? I know both of these things. And at least the age is one thing I would prefer you didn’t mention. You know I am still grieving my twenties.”

“My point is that I have no business  _ still _ crushing on Harry Potter. Or again. Whatever. He’s the father of my son’s best friend!”

“What does that have to do with anything? The way I see it, my friend, is that you’ve got a once in a lifetime opportunity. You’ve pined after Potter since we were teenagers. Sure, there’ve been breaks, but let’s be real, Potter was always on top of your  _ ‘To do’ _ list.” Draco groaned at the innuendo, but Blaise didn’t pay any attention to him. “What I’m saying is this. You’re friends now. You’re going on fricking  _ coffee dates _ . Please do us all a favour and just go for it. If he rejects you, well. That would suck. But you’d just go back to avoiding him at all costs like you did before. And if he doesn’t - and honestly, from what you’ve been telling me, that man has been flirting with you basically since you met - if he doesn’t, well, you’d be dating Harry Potter. Basically, your dream come true.”

Draco didn’t say anything. Usually, he wouldn’t take any advice Blaise gave him, because usually, any advice Blaise gave him sucked. But he was not the first one who told him to finally fess up and do something about his crush. Both Pansy and Astoria had basically ordered him to go for it. Astoria had even offered to get a divorce. “ _ We have Scorpius. I don’t see why we should stay married, especially if you’re going to be in a relationship soon. Also, I don’t want to be known as the woman you cheated on with the Chosen One _ ," she’d said. Their marriage had always had an expiration date, they’d both known that.

Still, Draco was a little baffled that none of his friends were discouraging him from taking action. Even Goyle had remarked that if finally taking action would stop Draco’s “Potter rants," he was fully supportive. But years of secretly crushing on Potter were hard to shake. He couldn’t just flip the switch from ‘I’d rather die than do anything about this’ to ‘Now actively pursuing a relationship with Potter’. It didn’t work like that.  _ He  _ didn’t work like that.

“So now that I have given you my great Blaise advice, it’s my turn to complain. Have you  _ seen  _ how badly we’re doing this quidditch season? Any Hogwarts school team could beat us! But does the management allow me to switch some players? Of course not!”

Draco was only half listening to Blaise ramble about the problems the team he was coaching had. His mind was still on Harry. And it stayed there.

 

* * *

 

Of course, Draco was early for their next coffee chat. He liked to acquaint himself with the establishment, settle in a little and mentally prepare. Harry had selected the venue this time, one of those small cafés that only fit eight people and had walls lined with books. This one had armchairs instead of regular chairs. Quite quaint. He took the table farthest from the door. It was the only one with even an illusion of privacy. He ordered his usual black coffee and sat down to wait. His thoughts wandered to the things he had to take care of over the next few weeks. Only two weeks and Scorpius would have his first Quidditch game of the season. He was now Slytherin’s main keeper. Draco was immensely proud of his son and had told him such on numerous occasions. Sometimes he realised just how much the relationship between him and his son differed from the one he had with his father. Of course, his father had cared for him. For the Malfoys, family always came first. But his father had always been cold, distant. More of a figure than a real person. Draco had admired him, had wanted to be like him. Now, he couldn’t be happier that he was not.

“You look almost as gloomy as the sky," Harry said as a greeting. Draco had been so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t even noticed him.

“I was thinking about my father.”

“Oh," was all Harry said. “I’m gonna order. We can talk about it if you want.”

Draco didn’t know if he wanted that. He had, generally, gotten a lot better with communication. Partially, this was because Pansy had married a communication coach who had influenced their whole circle of friends. They were now more open with each other. Closer. Still, there were a lot of things they didn’t talk about. Their parents were one of those things.

Harry sat down across from Draco. They sat in silence for a while, Harry sipping his probably devilishly sweet drink. Draco would never understand how he could bear such an attack on his taste buds.

“Tomorrow is burrow dinner," Harry said when Draco didn’t start talking.

“That sounds like quite the lively occasion," Draco said. He was grateful Harry didn’t push him. Maybe he would tell him about his thoughts later. But right now, he didn’t want to think about the past anymore.

“Depends. During the school year, it’s often just Molly, Arthur, Ron, Hermione and me. Sometimes Fred and Percy join, other times Bill and Fleur or Charlie. Andromeda and Teddy are also always welcome, but they’re often busy.”

“My aunt Andromeda?," Draco asked.

“I always forget Tonks was your cousin. Yes, your aunt Andromeda.”

“Mother sometimes talks about her. I think she misses her.”

Harry smiled. “Maybe she should just reach out. As far as I know, Andromeda would be happy about a reconciliation; if your mother has changed some of her views of course.”

Draco thought for a moment. His mother had changed, certainly. But they never talked about anything that even remotely touched any topics that could lead to debate. He had to admit, he didn’t know whether his mother’s views had changed or just her nature. He didn’t even know whether her heart had ever been in it, or if she had just been doing her duty as a good daughter and wife.

Apropos wife... 

“Astoria and I are getting a divorce," Draco said calmly. He tried to seem as detached and uninterested as possible, but he was very much interested in Harry’s reaction.

Harry just stared at him for a few seconds before asking: “What about Scorpio?”

“Oh, he knows our marriage is more of a marriage of convenience and that we will always be his parents. And since we already have separate bedrooms, not much will change apart from the two of us no longer being married.”

Harry nodded and looked into his mug for a while. “When we told the children, Lily took it the hardest. Especially since I insisted that we don’t tell them about Luna yet. It seemed to her that we’d just decided to end our marriage out of the blue. She hasn’t written to either of us since we told them, but according to James’s most recent letter, she’s getting better.”

“Not everyone would have kept the real reason to themselves to protect their ex-spouse.”

Harry shrugged. “I see it less as the real reason and more as the catalyst. We had been going through the motions for a while, Luna just helped Ginny realise that.”

Draco was in awe of how understanding Harry was. It was quite apparent he’d loved the Weasley girl. But for him, love meant wanting the other person to be happy even if it was without him.

“By the way,” Harry said in a faux-cheery voice. “I took your advice and told her about us.” He looked way too relaxed, too nonchalant.

With a raised eyebrow, Draco asked: “What exactly did you tell her?”

Harry didn’t meet his eyes as he said: “Just that we met at a gay club and are friends now. That’s it.”

Draco huffed. Harry really was a miserable liar. “If you say so, Potter.”

“I do say so, Malfoy.”

“And what was her opinion on… this?” He didn’t want to say “us”. “Us” sounded too much like they were a couple. They weren’t. They were friends. That was it.

“She approved. Said it was important for me to have a ‘queer support network’, whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

“I don’t know if I would count myself as a support network," Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

“You did help me a lot. And I enjoy our little dates," Harry said and took a sip from his sugar bomb.

_ Dates _ . Even though Draco’s friends always referred to his coffee chats with Harry as such, neither of them had dared to mention that word. Until now. He was on a date with Harry Potter. Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean anything romantic. One of the greatest shortcomings of the English language was that there was no word for a casual meeting between two friends.

“She guessed it was you though.”

“How so?," Draco asked and hoped Harry didn’t notice the slight quiver in his voice. He really had to get it together. His paranoia regarding his crush was getting out of control.

“I just said I’d met someone from Hogwarts at a gay bar and that it was a little complicated," Harry said and shrugged. “She immediately knew who it was.”

Draco didn’t know whether to be impressed or mortified. He settled for impressed. “And here I thought the ministry lover was the smart one," he said.

Harry rolled his eyes. “You know, the Weasleys have names.”

“I know," Draco said. “I have just never been acquainted with them.”

“Is that your weird way of saying you would like to meet my family?" Harry asked with a grin. Draco was pretty sure he was teasing. Still, he blushed.

Harry’s grin widened a little. “One day, Draco, I will introduce you to every single Weasley. With the children.”

“I can’t wait," Draco said dryly. Inside, he was dancing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> halfway through, lads! since it's already 3.30 am where I live, I'm going to bed now. I'll post the remaining chapters some other time. (I wrote the first draft of this in February, so all the chapters are written, they just need to be polished a little).  
> Pls comment or give me kudos, I live for the feedback. You can also find me on [tumblr](writtelings.tumblr.com).


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